Converting An Astro Minivan
By Robert Wells
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At a get-together of members of the yahoo group vandwellers, I built this
bed/shelf unit for a member named Katie. It turned out so well, I am going to
give you directions here on how to replicate it. This basic unit would work on
nearly every van, you would simply change the lengths to fit your van.
There are two parts of the unit. Directly behind the drivers seat is a shelf unit
that reaches all the way up to the ceiling. We spaced the shelves to fit the
exact items she wanted to put in them. Behind the shelves is a bed that is 72
inches long and 26 inches wide. She liked everything about it, but after living
with the bed for awhile, she decided it needed to be wider. I personally think
30 inches is the minimum width for a bed. First, I built the bed the size she
wanted, and then put that in the van and closed the door. When I was sure that
the bed cleared all obstructions I measured the space between the bed and
drivers seat and built the shelves to fit there. If your van is longer, you will
have bigger shelves. A possibility that didn't work in the Astro, but would in a
bigger van, was to build a second shelf unit at the foot of the bed and run a
shelf between the two shelf units like an overhead cabinet.
bed/shelf unit for a member named Katie. It turned out so well, I am going to
give you directions here on how to replicate it. This basic unit would work on
nearly every van, you would simply change the lengths to fit your van.
There are two parts of the unit. Directly behind the drivers seat is a shelf unit
that reaches all the way up to the ceiling. We spaced the shelves to fit the
exact items she wanted to put in them. Behind the shelves is a bed that is 72
inches long and 26 inches wide. She liked everything about it, but after living
with the bed for awhile, she decided it needed to be wider. I personally think
30 inches is the minimum width for a bed. First, I built the bed the size she
wanted, and then put that in the van and closed the door. When I was sure that
the bed cleared all obstructions I measured the space between the bed and
drivers seat and built the shelves to fit there. If your van is longer, you will
have bigger shelves. A possibility that didn't work in the Astro, but would in a
bigger van, was to build a second shelf unit at the foot of the bed and run a
shelf between the two shelf units like an overhead cabinet.
I added plywood gussets to the legs that went against the wall. I didn't add
them to the in-and-out from under the bed. We measured the height of the
tallest thing she wanted to put under there and made the legs that high, 19 inches
so she could get the maximum amount under the bed. Making the bed couldn't be
any easier. Cut two 2X4's to 72 inches long. Then cut 6 2X4's that are 19 inches
long for the legs. Using 3 inch screws, attach the legs to each end and in the
middle. Cut and attach the gussets out of 3/8 plywood. Cut the 72 by 26 inch bed
top out of 3/8 plywood. When we put the bed frame in the van we found that the
wheelwell wouldn't allow the legs to go back flush against the wall, so the
plywood overhangs the back legs by a few inches. Once I was sure how
everything fit, I screwed down the bed top. All the plywood was attached with 1
5/8 inch screws.
them to the in-and-out from under the bed. We measured the height of the
tallest thing she wanted to put under there and made the legs that high, 19 inches
so she could get the maximum amount under the bed. Making the bed couldn't be
any easier. Cut two 2X4's to 72 inches long. Then cut 6 2X4's that are 19 inches
long for the legs. Using 3 inch screws, attach the legs to each end and in the
middle. Cut and attach the gussets out of 3/8 plywood. Cut the 72 by 26 inch bed
top out of 3/8 plywood. When we put the bed frame in the van we found that the
wheelwell wouldn't allow the legs to go back flush against the wall, so the
plywood overhangs the back legs by a few inches. Once I was sure how
everything fit, I screwed down the bed top. All the plywood was attached with 1
5/8 inch screws.
The front legs are attached to the plywood shelf unit, so it is very strong. To add
strength to the back legs, I cut out an upside-down U shaped gasket and
screwed that into the end legs, making sure the drawers would fit under it, seen
in the above picture. Notice that the bed is in the middle of the van and actually
hanging out over the end of the van. Once the bed was finished, we pushed it out
there and built the shelf unit right on the front end of the bed. That gave us
room to work all around the shelf unit. Once it was done, we slid it into its
permanent home.
strength to the back legs, I cut out an upside-down U shaped gasket and
screwed that into the end legs, making sure the drawers would fit under it, seen
in the above picture. Notice that the bed is in the middle of the van and actually
hanging out over the end of the van. Once the bed was finished, we pushed it out
there and built the shelf unit right on the front end of the bed. That gave us
room to work all around the shelf unit. Once it was done, we slid it into its
permanent home.
The picture at left shows the shelf unit almost
finished. Katie didn't want it to interfere with
her ability to get into the back of the van from
the front seats, so we sized it the width of the
front seat. For strength, we used 5/8 plywood
for the shelf unit. The shelves rest on strips of
5/8 plywood. Just like the legs of the bed,
Katie decided what she wanted to put on the
shelves and we sized them to fit. Eventually she
will get rid of the bottom shelf. Above it is a
slide-out shelf her butane stove sits on (see
picture below). I made a mistake here and the
bottom shelf support has to go all the way out to
the end of the plywood to support the slide-out.
Above the slide out sits Katies insulated water
container which is tall so it is a high shelf. The
shelves are 14 inches wide and 16 inches deep.
Of course you will fit them to your van.
finished. Katie didn't want it to interfere with
her ability to get into the back of the van from
the front seats, so we sized it the width of the
front seat. For strength, we used 5/8 plywood
for the shelf unit. The shelves rest on strips of
5/8 plywood. Just like the legs of the bed,
Katie decided what she wanted to put on the
shelves and we sized them to fit. Eventually she
will get rid of the bottom shelf. Above it is a
slide-out shelf her butane stove sits on (see
picture below). I made a mistake here and the
bottom shelf support has to go all the way out to
the end of the plywood to support the slide-out.
Above the slide out sits Katies insulated water
container which is tall so it is a high shelf. The
shelves are 14 inches wide and 16 inches deep.
Of course you will fit them to your van.
The above picture shows how I had to cut the sides of the shelf unit to fit the
curve of the van's roof. I measured the height of roof in the front, middle,
and back wall of the shelf unit and cut to fit.
curve of the van's roof. I measured the height of roof in the front, middle,
and back wall of the shelf unit and cut to fit.
Katie wanted easy access to her butane stove,
so we built this slide-out. If she had a propane
stove the shelf would have needed to be taller
to allow room for the arm that holds the green
propane bottle. She reports she loves it and
uses her stove more. In fact her whole life as
a vandweller was revolutionized by the
organization the unit provided. Before, she had
to put things, so she had to shuffle things
around every morning and night. But now she is
able to organize and put things away in their
home.
so we built this slide-out. If she had a propane
stove the shelf would have needed to be taller
to allow room for the arm that holds the green
propane bottle. She reports she loves it and
uses her stove more. In fact her whole life as
a vandweller was revolutionized by the
organization the unit provided. Before, she had
to put things, so she had to shuffle things
around every morning and night. But now she is
able to organize and put things away in their
home.
In this shot you can see the finished unit. You can
see it gives her a huge amount of storage space
and organization. After she lived with the unit
for awhile, she discovered a problem. The bed
was too high, she hit her head every time she got
in and out of bed. So she rebuilt the bed to be
both wider and lower. To keep things from
sliding around on the shelves, she laid down red
drawer liners on the shelves. For double
security. Just in case, she also placed bungie
cords across the shelves to make sure that
nothing will go flying. Stacking the Sterilite
drawers under the bed was an especially good
idea, giving her lots of organization.
This is really a very inexpensive bed. We bought
one sheet of 3/8 plywood, one sheet of 5/8
plywood, a 1/2 pound of 3 inch screws, and 1/2
pound of 1 5/8 inch screws, and four 2X4s. I
used my Ryobi cordless 18 volt power tools from
Home Depot for this and many other projects.
Very highly recommended!!
see it gives her a huge amount of storage space
and organization. After she lived with the unit
for awhile, she discovered a problem. The bed
was too high, she hit her head every time she got
in and out of bed. So she rebuilt the bed to be
both wider and lower. To keep things from
sliding around on the shelves, she laid down red
drawer liners on the shelves. For double
security. Just in case, she also placed bungie
cords across the shelves to make sure that
nothing will go flying. Stacking the Sterilite
drawers under the bed was an especially good
idea, giving her lots of organization.
This is really a very inexpensive bed. We bought
one sheet of 3/8 plywood, one sheet of 5/8
plywood, a 1/2 pound of 3 inch screws, and 1/2
pound of 1 5/8 inch screws, and four 2X4s. I
used my Ryobi cordless 18 volt power tools from
Home Depot for this and many other projects.
Very highly recommended!!